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| Hiking | 44.50 Miles |
11,000 AEG |
| | Hiking | 44.50 Miles | 16 Hrs 30 Mns | | 2.70 mph |
| 11,000 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Finally decided it was time to try my hand at this mega-dayhike. Eric and I did the SK  NK BA version. Previous personal maximum miles in one day was 32, but that got blown off the back somewhere between Cottonwood and Phantom Ranch on the return. We set a nice steady pace the whole time and felt pretty good - or as good as ~44 miles can feel - which increased the enjoyment factor. For anyone planning on hiking the North Kaibab trail soon, water was on at all stations along the way.
The weather was absolutely perfect for a R2R2R in mid-May, allowing us to take advantage of the longer daylight hours this time of year without having to pay the price of the usual triple digit temps. Chilly and rainy the night before, but no precip on the hike itself. No dust at all along with hike with the recent rains. Off at first light at 5 a.m., down to Phantom around 7. Richard hiked with us to that point, but having already done R2R2R a couple years back, split off for Utah Flats and Cheops Pyramid. Eric and I moved steadily from there, and I do not exaggerate when I say that we passed by 150-200 people coming from the North Rim - crazy! Started feeling way better once we started climbing after Cottonwood and we hit the North Rim at 12:45. No snow left on the ground until right at the N. Kaibab parking lot. Chatted with some backpackers who had finished a 7 day trip, and started moving back down. Nice, sunny, cool, and breezy all the way, which was perfect, but the parade of people really didn't stop until well past Cottonwood. Made it to Phantom at 5:30, though that stretch through the Box was starting to take its toll on the body. Got a little break at Phantom, started up the Bright Angel, and the change in terrain angle made a big difference. Still had plenty of energy left in the tank, and we enjoyed a nice shady ascent to Indian Gardens, having to turn on headlights just past 3-mile resthouse. Eric found an extra gear and took off somewhere between 3 and 1.5 mile, and I just kept a steady pace and topped out at 9:30 to a cold wind. What a day! Just kept those fluids and calories coming and things worked out pretty well. |
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Route Editor
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